Comparing my HTC Evo elapsed vs CPU times it seems that though BOINC correctly detects it as dual CPU both tasks running on single core.
So I installed OS monitor. This app is able to show CPU state along with other low-level hardware info.
And indeed, second CPU is in sleep state. When I start to scroll screen it becomes active (to handle GUI load) but soon after that returns into sleepy/disabled state.

Perhaps it's because SETI CPU tasks run on idle level priority and CPU governor rejects to fire both CPUs for such tasks.

What your observations about real multicore usage on smartphones under Android? Any ideas how to use all cores? Phone doesn't rooted so I'm quite restricted in ways to handle this issue.SETI apps news
We're not gonna fight them. We're gonna transcend them.

Im running BOINC on a samsung J3, three tasks at a time, not sure hot to upload photos so upping it to imgur, link below, if you look for that info in another place in the app tell me and ill check it out.

Anyway when the phone is idle (second picture) i see only one core seems active, while when running BOINC (first picture) it seems all are active.
Mind you this is just what it seems to me, to be honest i dont even know what those numbers mean, it might help you tho :D

http://imgur.com/a/4Nuzb

On a somewhat related note if anyone has info, im trying to run some tasks on my galaxy s7 (Mali T-880), but there are zero tasks for quite some time now, im guessing there just arent any or maybe something on my end?
Im not getting log message that states any reason for not downloading tasks, just: request completed, got 0 new tasks.
I do remember doing a few tasks normally way back when i just got the phone.

Thanks and i hope this info helps at least a bit, if you need something else looked at on my and, let me know.

Perhaps it resembles my issue. "switchedoff" CPU is on lowest possible frequency and keeps that freq no matter that phone has 2 active background tasks.

Interesting, if SETI would run on normal priority there - will it chenge?

BTW, what app did you use on screenshot?

It could be. Probably different phone manufactures implement power saving differently.
The app is System Info for Android.SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours Join the BP6/VP6 User Group today!

Anyway when the phone is idle (second picture) i see only one core seems active, while when running BOINC (first picture) it seems all are active.
Cheers

That's how should be in case each task crunched on own core andphone uses all his computation nodes for crunching.
in my case 2 tasks launched by BOINC but only 1 CPU of 2 remains active.
So, each task takes ~2 times more elapsed time than CPU time to process and phone itself operates as single core devices.SETI apps news
We're not gonna fight them. We're gonna transcend them.

I would guess that they haven't implemented SMT due to licensing or they don't see a use for it. Given most ARM processors are used in embedded systems where SMT mat not be advantageous.SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours Join the BP6/VP6 User Group today!

Anyway when the phone is idle (second picture) i see only one core seems active, while when running BOINC (first picture) it seems all are active.
Cheers

That's how should be in case each task crunched on own core andphone uses all his computation nodes for crunching.
in my case 2 tasks launched by BOINC but only 1 CPU of 2 remains active.
So, each task takes ~2 times more elapsed time than CPU time to process and phone itself operates as single core devices.

Maybe the manufacture has limited each process that starts to only use one processor with some kind of processor affinity command.
Based on the behavior you have described that seems like something that may be occurring.SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours Join the BP6/VP6 User Group today!

I've been running work on my old Huawei G700-U10 for the past couple of months and have been reporting the oddities of running tasks on one, two, three and four cores to Eric. The oddities being that the lower the amount of CPU cores used, the slower the work progresses.

Just the other week I found out that when the screen turns off, the CPU runs in low power mode.
Using CPU-Z and setting the display to turn on as soon as the power button is pressed, I can see that all cores show as 'stopped', running at 50% load max while the screen is off. CPU temp is then 20C (it's a cold bedroom).
Turn the screen on and the cores power up to 1407MHz, CPU load goes to 70%, CPU temp goes up to 43C.

So no wonder the tasks can take up to 350K seconds to finish.Jord

Ancient Astronaut Theorists can tell you that I do not help with tech questions via private message. Please use the forums for that.

Anyway when the phone is idle (second picture) i see only one core seems active, while when running BOINC (first picture) it seems all are active.
Cheers

That's how should be in case each task crunched on own core andphone uses all his computation nodes for crunching.
in my case 2 tasks launched by BOINC but only 1 CPU of 2 remains active.
So, each task takes ~2 times more elapsed time than CPU time to process and phone itself operates as single core devices.

Maybe the manufacture has limited each process that starts to only use one processor with some kind of processor affinity command.
Based on the behavior you have described that seems like something that may be occurring.

But cause BOINC launches 2 tasks there are 2 independent processes actually. Still they both use CPU 0 and CPU1 get switched off soon I stop touching the screen.SETI apps news
We're not gonna fight them. We're gonna transcend them.

Anyway when the phone is idle (second picture) i see only one core seems active, while when running BOINC (first picture) it seems all are active.
Cheers

That's how should be in case each task crunched on own core andphone uses all his computation nodes for crunching.
in my case 2 tasks launched by BOINC but only 1 CPU of 2 remains active.
So, each task takes ~2 times more elapsed time than CPU time to process and phone itself operates as single core devices.

Maybe the manufacture has limited each process that starts to only use one processor with some kind of processor affinity command.
Based on the behavior you have described that seems like something that may be occurring.

But cause BOINC launches 2 tasks there are 2 independent processes actually. Still they both use CPU 0 and CPU1 get switched off soon I stop touching the screen.

I was thinking of how in works, at least in Windows, when you launch BOINC with CPU affinity. It launches all child processes with the same affinity.
It sounds like some kind of aggressive power saving function.
I'm not sure if the default Android developer options, once enabled, would be of any help.SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours Join the BP6/VP6 User Group today!

Just the other week I found out that when the screen turns off, the CPU runs in low power mode.

Smth similar I observed with Asus Transformer. When screen OFF it seems it stops any processing at all.

So, the biggest question is what tools we have to adjust such power-saving features of Android devices?
Maybe device firmware can be fooled somehow to force in high-power state...SETI apps news
We're not gonna fight them. We're gonna transcend them.

So, the biggest question is what tools we have to adjust such power-saving features of Android devices?
Maybe device firmware can be fooled somehow to force in high-power state...

Over Christmas I'm planning to test with No Screen Off and if that doesn't work, with XPosed Framework so that the screen doesn't turn off - and hopefully the CPU doesn't either. I'll have to find something to put the phone in so the screen is covered.Jord

Ancient Astronaut Theorists can tell you that I do not help with tech questions via private message. Please use the forums for that.

Don't get me wrong, my phone continues to go through tasks as well with the screen off, but slowly.
For example, run time 249,402.11, CPU time113,360.20
Or run time 83,353.62, CPU time 38,064.48

That's with two cores being used, but means that for ~2/3rds of the time the CPU isn't used. It was these discrepancies that made me do all the testing for Eric. Now, I get it, the device/OS may be constructed in such a way that they try to keep the temperature down. Both of the CPU and battery, but seeing how similar CPUs in RaspPi2s and 3s running under Linux run similar tasks in a fifth to a third of the time is then painful.Jord

Ancient Astronaut Theorists can tell you that I do not help with tech questions via private message. Please use the forums for that.